EVERYTHING IOS 11 IS GOING TO BRING TO YOUR IPHONE

Apple just announced iOS 11, the next version of its software to power your iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch as its annual Worldwide Developers Conference kicked off.

The biggest changes come to Siri, Apple’s voice assistant; some redesigns, like to the lock screen, App Store and Control Center; and augmented reality (AR) software that’s going to mesh the virtual world onto your own.

All these updates and more will bring a wave of new features to your device, and even more exciting to tech-watchers to Apple’s next iPhones. For that reason, iOS 11 is especially important. As the operating system set to power the hotly-anticipated 10th anniversary iPhone, changes to iOS drop some major hints about what the iPhone 8 (or whatever Apple calls it) will be able to do.

The iPhone is Apple’s most popular device, and also its biggest moneymaker. (iPhones make up more than two-thirds of Apple’s total sales, including laptops.) But phone sales have dropped in the past four out of five quarters, despite the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus’s popularity. iOS 11 could help lure buyers by reinvigorating the software innards behind the next iPhone’s hardware shell.

What’s new in iOS 11

AR is coming to your iPhone and iPad

When you look at your iPhone or iPad screen, you’ll be able to interact with virtual items overlaid in your real world. For example, you can place items like a lamp in your living room, or see Pokemon monsters on the sidewalk at your feet

Apple is just now launching the developer platform (called ARKit), so this isn’t something you’ll be able to use right away. (My guess is September when we expect Apple to launch its next iPhones.)

Why we care: This kind of deep software supports rumors that Apple is going to add a lot more computing power to the iPhone camera.

Why we care: The larger iPad screen means people use it differently than they do their phones. These changes can make the iPad easier to use and far more productive.

When do you get iOS 11?

Developers can start working with the iOS 11 beta today. The finished software will arrive to for new and existing devices in the fall.

We expect Apple to reveal next iPhone with iOS 11 this September, assuming the company sticks to its hardware update cycle. Apple’s new iPads will ship with iOS 10 at first and then upgrade to iOS 11 in a few months.